Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. The Ghost is one of three spirits that appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption.
Ghost of Christmas Present
- Spirit of Christmas Present
Male[a]
- Ghost of Christmas Past
(forerunner) - Ghost of Christmas Yet-to-Come
(follower)
Following a visit from the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley, Scrooge receives nocturnal visits from three Ghosts of Christmas, each representing a different period in Scrooge's life. The Ghost of Christmas Present is concerned with Scrooge's current life and the present Christmas Day.[1]
The Ghost of Christmas Present is presented as a personification of the Christmas spirit,[2][3] and in the novella's first edition hand-coloured drawing by John Leech resembles early-Victorian images of Father Christmas. The spirit first appears to Scrooge on a throne made of traditional Christmas foodstuffs that would have been familiar to Dickens's more prosperous readers.[4][5]
The spirit becomes the mouthpiece for Dickens's view on social reform and Christian charity:[2][6] generosity and goodwill to all men – especially to the poor – and celebration of Christmas Day.[7]
Notable portrayals[edit]
Film[edit]
The character does not appear in Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost (1901), the first film version of the story.